The Battle Of Brooklyn: Hidden History In Your Backyard

BY AILEEN CHUMARD

It has been a hot summer, but New Yorkers were really feeling the heat back in the summer of 1776 as more and more British ships dropped anchor in New York Harbor daily. While our young nation asserted its independence on July 4, British commander General William Howe was mobilizing his country’s greatest expeditionary force to-date, in order to capture New York City and gaining control of the Hudson River.

Arriving in Staten Island — the closest available strategic point to Brooklyn — Howe’s well-trained and well-equipped army spent the summer readying for battle. Meanwhile, General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, arrived in New York only a few months before and had to strategize how to utilize his ill-equipped and largely untrained militia in a battle where he would likely be outnumbered three-to-one.

On August 22, the British made their move, landing at Gravesend Bay. Over the course of the following week, the British pressed forward engaging Washington’s armies at sites all over Brooklyn, from the Red Lion Inn (near present-day Green-Wood Cemetery) to “Battle Pass” in Prospect Park to the Old Stone House (in Park Slope).

By August 29, the British were ready to siege the main defenses in Brooklyn Heights. Outwitted and outnumbered, Washington and his generals successfully evacuated the entire army and all supplies across the East River under the cover of a foggy night. The Americans escaped, but the British won the Battle of Brooklyn.

And so for the next seven years, while the British occupied Brooklyn and Manhattan, they also imprisoned colonists aboard decommissioned British warships moored in Wallabout Bay — right here at what would become the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As many as 11,500 men and women died aboard these ships from disease and malnutrition. Now known as the “prison ship martyrs,” their bodies were either buried in shallow shoreline graves or simply thrown overboard. Their bones washed ashore for years.

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If you are unfamiliar with this significant Brooklyn history, you are not alone. Cities like Boston and Philadelphia, and even Manhattan/New York, are commonly associated with American and Revolutionary War history. Brooklyn however, for many, rarely comes to mind. Not only was the Battle of Brooklyn the first and largest battle of the American Revolution, but there was also more American loss of life right here in Wallabout Bay than in all the battles combined.

Today, this tragedy is commemorated at the impressive Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park. And now, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92 offers another historic-site destination where visitors can experience this rich history. Our award-winning exhibits allow visitors to engage with this national heritage through multiple mediums. Those interested can learn more through images and text in our timeline gallery, via engaging with our interactive map tracing the evolution of the site over 400 years, and through exciting media components. In one video, visitors meet James Forten, an African American prison ship survivor who became a wealthy entrepreneur and abolitionist.

Join the Navy Yard on August 23 as we commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn with our very own Battle of Brooklyn Trivia Night with veteran trivia hosts Stuart Post and Chris Kelley. Stop in the on-site café, Ted & Honey, for beer, light fare and interactive team trivia. Brooklyn brainiacs will win great prizes!

If you’re not up for battle, we offer free admission to BLDG 92 exhibits Wednesday through Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m., as well as a variety of bus, bike and family tours on the weekends. Come and beat the heat!

Visit www.bldg92.org for more information about Battle of Brooklyn Trivia Night, and all Navy Yard programs and tours.

Aileen Chumard is Deputy Director of BLDG 92’s Exhibits and Programs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.